SkyLofts MarketSquare | SkyLofts Has it All

ROYAL OAK, MI – With Royal Oak restaurants and nightlife just up the street, SkyLofts MarketSquare is the perfect home for loft owner Mike Smith and his roommate, Kevin Birchler, both 24.

Transportation? No problem. Their vehicles of choice to get to a recent interview at the Royal Oak Brewery were their skateboards.

“I like the proximity to downtown. I never get in my car,” Smith said. He said they and their friends are happy to go out on the town in Royal Oak without worrying about parking and driving.”

The two, former classmates at Brother Rice High School, were among the earliest residents of SkyLofts MarketSquare. They moved in in early June of this year. Smith had been living in a Royal Oak apartment and “looking for houses forever” when he began considering a loft. The price compared favorably to other options and the 307-square-foot terrace attracted him.

“These other places just have a balcony stuck on,” he said. He and his friends socialized outdoors all summer.

The SkyLofts fitness center meant that Smith could drop his health club membership and he said he’ll be very happy when indoor parking saves him from having to scrape snow off his car on winter mornings.

“Morningside Group’s research and experience with loft developments in Illinois and Michigan demonstrated that these were the most desirable amenities,” said SkyLofts Development Manager Nico Schultz. “We specialize in these kinds of developments, and can offer a high-value package of benefits at a very favorable price.”

For Smith and Birchler, the other major attraction is the location. Their mug club memberships at the Royal Oak Brewery earn them discounts on draft beer and a free meal on their birthdays. They visit 5th Avenue to shoot pool and dine at Café Habana and Comet Burgers. They play golf at Rackham Golf Course during the summer.

Smith shops at the Farmer’s Market on Saturdays, while Birchler likes the Sunday flea market. “That’s where I’ll get all my Christmas gifts,” Birchler said.

Royal Oak’s easy access to I-75 and I-696 make it easy for them to get to downtown Detroit, where the duo cheered on the Detroit Tigers last summer.

Smith, who attended Denison University, works in sales and quality control for Basic Rubber and Plastics, a Walled Lake company that provides Humvee and tank parts for the U.S. defense industry. Birchler, a University of Michigan biology grad, works at an Alpaca farm in Goodrich, Mich. They typify the successful young working set who want the maintenance-free life that condominium ownership provides and a great downtown in which to socialize with their friends.

Founded in 1993, Morningside Group is a boutique real estate development firm that specializes in creating premier residential and mixed-use developments on in-fill sites in downtown locations. Long recognized as a leader in the design and construction of highly acclaimed buildings, Morningside Group has built an enviable track record of successful public-private partnerships.

Morningside’s incomparable work ensures that each new development will join a growing portfolio of prized buildings which includes, in Michigan, SkyLofts Royal Oak and SkyLofts MarketSquare in Royal Oak and, in Illinois, Arbor Court and Prairie Town Center in Oak Lawn, Crescent Court and Museum Square in Elmhurst, Morningside Square in Downers Grove, The Glen Astor in Glen Ellyn, and buildings in Evanston and Skokie.